Hockey coach Michael Brasel
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — A 17-year-old boy pleaded guilty to murder charges Wednesday in connection to the shooting death of beloved St. Paul youth hockey coach Michael Brasel in May.
Kle Swee, who is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree murder while committing a felony, also agreed Tuesday to be sentenced as an adult, which will happen in early October. Ta Mla, 18, is also charged with second-degree murder in this case.
Brasel was shot on May 6 at about 7:20 a.m. on the 2300 block of Chilcombe Avenue in St. Paul. Brasel’s son was inside the house at the time, and told police he heard his father yell “What are you doing?” before hearing gunshots. Witnesses then described seeing a black car with tinted windows and a loud exhaust speed west.
A few minutes later, a witness in St. Anthony — about 1.5 miles from the shooting scene — reported that a black car with a loud exhaust had swerved into a curb, and the front bumper had fallen off.
Police were able to use the bumper and license plate to tie the car to two prior police stops in the weeks before the shooting. He was stopped in St. Paul and Savage, though the charges do not state the reason for the stops.
Swee was driving the car both times, documents state. Investigators were then able to connect Swee and his cellphone, and executed a search warrant, which showed location data tying him to Chilcombe Avenue at the time of the shooting.
Swee was eventually arrested at his home in St. Paul. He initially tried to flee from officers, but was apprehended. He did not cooperate with officer’s attempts to obtain a statement, documents say.
Swee was charged in connection to an April 2022 incident in which he took what appeared to be a gun to Harding High School and tried to steal from another student.
Documents say that he demanded a cellphone from the student and held the gun to his head in the school bathroom. Two other boys witnessed the incident, which was captured on Snapchat.
Swee was charged with aggravated robbery and was discharged from probation in January of 2023.
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